In the mountains, a young beastman raced through the trees.
His breath came in ragged gasps, white vapor at his lips dissolving quickly into the chilly air.
He sprang high, landing in a patch of dark coniferous trees below; pine branches bent under him, then rebounded, giving him extra momentum to push forward.
Behind him, a black fiend leapt through the woods in relentless pursuit.
The creature resembled an ape, but its build was far bulkier, as if its entire body had been forged from solid black steel. It showed no fear of the forest’s brambles, crushing and smashing trees as it plowed onward.
After a long chase, the two figures burst out of the trees and a huge lake suddenly appeared ahead, blocking the youth’s path. He was forced to brake abruptly, eyes scanning for an escape before settling on a clearing by the shore.
“Damn it.” he muttered, about to veer another way when a gust of wind from behind warned him the threat had closed in.
The black ape-like monster swung an arm like a howling maul. The boy barely dodged, but a boulder behind him took the brunt of the blow and shattered. Shards flew, some striking the beastman, bringing sharp pain.
No time to catch his breath, the monster spun and lunged again.
The youth rolled and crawled to evade, but with nowhere left to go he had to raise both arms and brace himself to block the impact.
Bones shattered with a crisp crack, and he spat blood foam as the blow sent him flying. He crashed into a distant treetop and tumbled down.
He barely managed to adjust his posture and landed on one knee to dissipate the force. Only then did he realize his left arm was broken and useless, his right arm hardly better and nearly numb.
By rank he was no weakling — a Transcendent of the Beast Fang Aspect at Second Tier, his bones were as tough as iron, not like an ordinary person’s. Yet even so, he had suffered grievous wounds from that attack.
Where had this Third Tier monster come from? He wondered as he leaped again, bounding along treetops to keep distance.
As the youngest warrior of the Wolf Fang Tribe, he was already among the tribe’s top three fighters. Only the Third Tier chieftain could clearly defeat him, yet facing this creature he struggled to hold his ground.
Both were Second Tier — so why was the gap so huge?
As he fled he felt his stamina draining. He had to decide: keep dragging the monster in circles or bring it back to the tribe.
The former was nearly certain death. The latter would summon the tribe’s support at the risk of casualties.
He had originally refused that option, but circumstances had taken a turn. If he kept running circles he would die in these familiar woods.
Driven by a fierce will to survive, the youth changed course and ran toward the tribe.
Twenty minutes later his strength was nearly gone, and the familiar wooden palisade of the tribe appeared in the distance.
Leaping up again, he fumbled with his recovering right hand and pulled a short whistle from his waist, shrilling a sharp warning — the signal that a powerful enemy had arrived.
The tribe mobilized; soon familiar silhouettes appeared on watchtowers, drawing bows and firing arrows at the pursuing monster, and others rushed out to help.
Six burly men wearing Beast Fang bone necklaces charged with heavy axes, striking at the ape-fiend.
Metallic clangs rang from each impact, then the monster smashed those six men with several crushing blows, roaring in fury.
The youth was dragged to the base of a large tree by companions. At that moment, the tribe’s chieftain finally arrived, gripping his antler hammer, his heavy footsteps trampling leaves and stones like another great beast moving forward.
When the two figures met in the wood, hammer and heavy fists collided. The shockwave swept through like a gale, scattering branches and pebbles.
The fighting had been intense; through the trees the scene was hard to make out.
“How’s it going...?” someone panted, breathing heavily as he asked the man beside him.
“The chieftain is dealing with it. From here it’s hard to tell who will win,” the companion answered, eyeing a snapped sapling nearby.
“Is that thing really only Second Tier? How can it be so strong?” the companion asked after a moment.
“I don’t know either. When it first appeared we were badly surprised,” the youth said. His breathing had steadied somewhat as he forced himself to his feet.
Across the clearing, the chieftain’s chest and back bore fierce beast totems, which pulsed to life in the heat of battle, bleeding red light as if the tattoos were awakened.
He hefted the antler hammer and slammed it down, driving the ape-monster’s head into the ground until it sank into the mud. If this had been another monster, its skull would have been smashed like a melon, but this ape-fiend was different.
Although dazed, it slowly rose, eyes rimmed with blood, grabbing up its massive palms to strike back.
The chieftain warded off the blow with his antler hammer but was forced to step back under the strain.
Just when the fight reached a stalemate, the tribe’s shaman arrived to assist. Chanting unknown incantations, he transformed broken branches into emerald snakes that slithered out and coiled around the monster.
Some of those green serpents were crushed into splinters, reverting to broken wood, while others scaled the creature’s body and wrapped it tight.
The monster fought and tore against them, but couldn’t pay attention to the chieftain.
Given that brief respite, the chieftain inhaled deeply and gripped his antler hammer. An invisible energy poured into the weapon.
That hammer had been passed down from tribal ancestors. It was said to have been fashioned from the horns of a Fourth Tier “Savage God Deer.” The tribe’s strongest warrior once slew the beast and preserved its horns; later shamans bent and forged them into a curved heavy hammer that could crush boulders with a swing.
If imbued with Beast Fang Aspect energy, the hammer could shatter an opponent’s bones with ease.
As the chieftain readied his strike, the ape-monster struggled in the writhing green serpents. Though powerful, it had no special skill to counter such bindings, only brute force to tear them apart.
Luckily its body was like black steel; the snakes could at most restrain it, not harm it.
Unable to free itself for a long time, the monster’s fury flared. Then, sensing danger from the chieftain, it rolled to dodge rather than keep tearing.
This was the first time everyone had seen it choose evasion over sheer force — hope surged in their hearts.
The dodge was temporary. With plentiful combat experience, the chieftain seized his moment and swung the antler hammer, crushing the beast’s skull.
The injured monster let out a trembling howl filled with anguish and rage, chilling those watching.
Blood slowly poured from its eyes, nose, and mouth; its gait faltered and it staggered down to the ground. At last the people exhaled in relief.
The chieftain relaxed and turned to question the youth about the creature’s origin.
But the faces around him flickered in horror, and before he could react a heavy blow slammed into the back of his head, sending him flying several meters and toppling three trees.
The ape-monster, which everyone had believed dead, rose again. Worse, its aura changed; blood pouring from its mouth and nostrils traced eerie patterns across its body, and its form began to mutate.
Black Steel Giant Ape (Second Tier · Beast Fang) — Blood-Masked Giant Ape (Third Tier · Bloodline)
Not only had its rank risen, its Aspect had transformed. The sudden shift sent the tribe into panic. With the chieftain felled, no Third Tier remained to stop this berserk beast.
Tribe members reeled in fear and tried to flee, but the enraged monster spared none. It lunged forward and its thunderous palms smashed those who couldn’t escape into pulped flesh. The once-solid wooden palisade was effortlessly broken.
Inside the stockade lay the elderly, the weak, and children. The creature treated the place like a feeding ground, heedlessly slamming, seizing, and devouring tribe members — especially warriors who bore Aspects.
As a Bloodline Aspect creature, it could absorb power from the blood and flesh it ate, restoring itself and gaining further strength.
The wounds the chieftain had inflicted healed as it fed, and its power rose incrementally, plunging the tribe into despair.
Panicked cries echoed. In the chaos people knocked over lit lamps, igniting furnishings.
Black smoke and flames rose, turning the village into utter disorder.
On a nearby hill outside the palisade, the barely functioning youth watched the scene unfold, wracked with remorse, his fingers digging into his flesh.
Everything was his fault. The death toll today surpassed any in the past hundred years, and many of the dead were his kin and friends.
A peer of his burst from the palisade and, seeing him motionless by the roadside, screamed.
“Run! What are you doing standing there?!”
“I...” the youth could not answer. He wanted to run, but something heavy pinned his limbs.
Seeing him still kneeling, his companion grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away.
They dragged themselves a few steps before the monster burst from smoke and flame, landing not far from them.
Within the stockade the capable fighters had been devoured, and the Bloodline Aspect’s senses told it these two on the run were a First Tier and a Second Tier.
The ape’s eyes were deep red; bits of flesh and gore clung between its teeth. Its menacing aura froze the two youths in place. The creature’s heartbeat, strong and steady, thudded through them, tightening their chests and stiffening their limbs.
This was the oppressive dominance of a high-tier Bloodline Aspect over lower ranks: the monster’s proximity alone could render weaker beings dead or paralyzed.
Maybe it had eaten enough already and wasn’t truly hungry, or perhaps it wished to toy with them. The ape took deliberate, ground-shaking steps as it approached, red eyes fixed on them, making their bodies tremble.
It paused before them, as though bored, and slapped a palm down to perform final preparation — to make the prey easier to swallow.
The massive black hand briefly shaded the sky. The youth closed his eyes in despair, hoping for less pain.
But before the blow landed, a shrill whistle sliced through the air. The tearing gust knocked both youths aside and flung them through the air. When he opened his eyes midflight he saw an astonishing sight.
The ape’s downward swipe had been interrupted by a silver-gray flying construct. The dive of that flying bird forced the monster’s hand up, and the gust blew the two youths away.
The construct dove again, its beak razor-sharp like a blade aimed at the monster’s eye.
The ape abandoned the youths and engaged the flying bird instead.
Though a single clutch would have crushed the silver bird, its nimble maneuvers kept it safe, only leaving scattered feathers.
The youth glanced back in the middle of his escape and saw the flying bird being torn apart. The ape snatched its tail and, with the other hand, twisted and broke it.
Feathers shattered into light particles without blood or flesh.
Seeing this, the youth’s small hope sank.
His companion didn’t look back; he just ran as fast as he could.
After dispatching the flying bird, the ape resumed chase. The three figures plunged into the undulating hills outside the palisade.
Soon the pair were caught again. The youth thought this was his third near-death encounter of the day.
“You go. I’ll hold him,” he told his companion and stopped.
“Azhelin, you—!” his friend shouted his name in confusion, but seeing the huge black silhouette closing in there was no time for questions. He ran on.
Watching his friend flee, Azhelin changed direction to lure the ape away. He didn’t know how long he could last, but everything that happened today stemmed from him; dying now would be a sort of penance.
He ran again, surging every reserve of strength as he threaded through familiar woods and ridges. Everything was well known yet strange — he normally hunted far from the palisade and had only watched it from a distance.
If he died here, it would be fitting, he thought wryly.
His foot landed on a branch that bent deeply and then sprung him forward. He darted like a nimble fish, barely keeping distance as the monster howled in fury.
The brief satisfaction lasted less than half a minute.
As a Bloodline Aspect creature, the ape boosted its blood circulation and surged in speed, smashing trees to close the gap.
When Azhelin burst from the forest, the view opened wide — he had reached the mountain summit.
Going downhill would be faster, but the ape would also have an easier time gaining ground. He would soon be overtaken.
As he considered that, a tiny black dot in the sky raced toward him and shot past in an instant, like a shadow.
A blast of wind struck him and threw him off balance. Black feathers scattered in the wake, and he saw a beautiful figure he had never seen before.
Her black hair flowed smoothly, tracing the airflow as it fluttered. Her dress, shades of black and blue, was made of a fabric he didn’t know, outlining the graceful curve of her body.
In that breathtaking glimpse he was stunned by a beauty unlike anything in his tribe: fine outer-world silk with petal-like sleeves, revealing pale, flawless hands and balanced legs hinted at beneath the swaying skirt.
He wanted to shout a warning about the monster, but a blazing torrent cleaved the sky and cut him off.
A blue electric current streaked thousands of meters and struck the ape precisely in the chest, burning a massive wound into its supposedly indestructible black-steel body. The monster, grievously wounded, attempted to leap up and swing a palm at the girl in midair.
In Azhelin’s stunned gaze, a silver radiance flashed. A five-meter-long ornate silver sword appeared, its intricate patterns spreading like vines.
The blade slashed, instantly cleaving the indestructible ape cleanly in two.
The black-and-red body plummeted, spraying blood — some of which splashed onto Azhelin’s face, burning hot.
The ape lay lifeless, as inert as a stone. Azhelin stared in a daze, unbelieving.
Shock, joy, confusion — so many emotions surged he could not find words.
One thing was certain: he and the surviving tribe members could finally live.
Comments